What's Left?
by 808Lionfire
Summary: Sure, Natsu and Happy leaving without saying good-bye hurt, but at least they have Fairy tail to lean back on... right? (a late 416 chapter one-shot. Spoiler warning just in case)


****A/N: MAJOR SPOILERS, ye hath been warned. ****

**So, I wasn't really planning on posting this since, y'know, it's _far_ past overdue. I had the idea while I was reading the chapter but I never acted on it until a few days ago, haha! This is a little darker than my usual upbeat and romantic-_ish_ one-shots. ******And before any of you ask; yes, this is a one-shot unless I have the urge to write more. Basically this is just my theory on the aftermath since they didn't really emphasize on the Guild's disbandment. This one-shot was originally going to be only the second part with Master, hence the larger paragraphs. But I needed a good enough summary and this was the only one I could think of.****

****Not one of my best works but I'm slightly proud of it (I'm _probably_ going to revise it in the future and re-post it so don't worry about the first half. Unprofessional as it may seem, I also did not read it over so you're getting it RAW). If it's a little slapdash, I apologize in advance.****

****Now before I make the A/N longer than the actual story, enjoy (if you can) and as always, see you in the next one! -808Lionfire****

****Disclaimer: Fairy Tail (c) Hiro Mashima****

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**Overview: **Rated T for possible language. Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Friendship/Family and maybe a hint of Angst. No romance in this one but some parings are implied if you squint really, really, _really_ hard. Taken place during or directly after Chapter 416 (One week after the Tartaros Arc). Spoiler warning in story description and in the A/N so you've been warned.

**Summary:** Sure, Natsu and Happy leaving without saying good-bye hurt, but at least they have Fairy tail to lean back on... right?

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_All We Had Left_

"Report!"

"He wasn't at the park, Erza. I checked."

"Damn it. Thank you anyway, Levy," The red-head sighed heavily, missing the slight cower the blunette gave off when she frowned. Turning her attention completely, she gave a pleading look to the next two scouts, "How about you, Wendy? Carla?"

The younger bluenette shook her head, "I checked the Cherry Blossom fields and Natsu-san wasn't there either."

"They weren't at Lucy's apartment either," Carla reported, "But the front door as well as the window was wide open and unlocked."

Erza clenched her fist, "Well that's sort of a lead. Gajeel? Lily?"

"I don't get why we gotta look for Salamander anyway," The Iron Dragon Slayer grumpily scoffed, "Let that idiot wallow in his own damned tears."

"Yeah?" Levy raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, "Like how you've been doing?"

"Oi! I ain't crying or will I ever cry for losing my shitty pops," Gajeel protested indignantly, falling back onto the concrete seat with a roll of his eyes, "Ain't like he gave me anythin' to cry over anyway."

"That's not what you told Lily."

"W-wha-? Oi, Lily!"

"They weren't at the market," The black and white exceed reported, ignoring the Dragon Slayer that was trying to catch his attention, "I also went to Gray's apartment to ask if he'd seen them but he wasn't there either."

"Gray said he was going to visit his hometown for a little while," Erza sighed, running a hand through her red locks.

"Rain-woman followed him," Gajeel huffed, giving up on trying to yell at his cat, "And I ain't got no reason why."

"ERZA! YOU GUYS!" A panicked and slightly breathless voice yelled out, causing the group to turn to the speaker. Running towards them was their only Celestial wizard, Lucy. Her face was flushed as if she ran a mile and she was waving something in the air. Her chocolate eyes were wide and filled with a mixture of sadness, panic and anger. And as she got closer, they noticed that she was waving a piece of paper at them.

"Lucy?" Erza asked in concern, when the blonde panted to a stop, "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"I... well, no. I-I mean yes, but-" Lucy paused, lifting her eyes to look back at their concerned faces and then Gajeel. The Iron Dragon slayer looked like he was more worried about her sanity than anythings else.

"Is Natsu-san with you?" Wendy asked innocently, peeking around the blonde to see if the Fire Dragon Slayer was quickly running after her and clasping her hands together hopefully.

Looking at the faces of her friends around her, she remembered something she forgot completely. Of course, how _could_ she forget Fairy Tail? There were people here who knew the stubborn pair longer than she had. And here she was, being sorry for herself that Natsu and Happy (her main reason for being in Fairy Tail in the first place) left without a single good-bye to her. He probably hadn't said anything to anyone else either and she was most likely one of the only people who knew that he was gone. She didn't know how many other people he gave letters to but it looked like she was the only one who read hers.

So, without a second thought, the blonde slowly handed the note to the red-headed mage while looking at anything but the group.

Confused, Erza took the paper, still staring at Lucy for a second more before looking down at it. Slowly, she opened the paper and read the contents inside. Despite the terrible penmanship, she quickly made out the characters in the letter and then sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. Curiously, the rest of the group got up and surrounded the red-headed mage to peek at the letter. Even Gajeel got up to read the contents.

They slowly turned to Lucy who was just nodding sadly, "HE WHAT?!"

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_Meanwhile at the Fairy Tail wreckage..._

"WE'RE WHAT?!"

Master Makarov had to plug his ears from the intense volume that his brats decided to yell, nearly deafening him more than he already was (Because according to Porlysusica, old age does that naturally). Standing in the middle of where the proud guild once stood, the aged man took care to look at each one of his brats with empathetically stern eyes. The girls looked like they were going to break down while the boys looked like they wanted to break something instead. Some looked scared, horrified even and others carefully picked out what emotion they wanted to show and settled on either passive or indifferent. Though, everyone knew that they felt the _exact_ opposite.

After his talk with Doranbolt, he was expecting this reaction since the recently reminded member of Fairy Tail had acted the same. He expected the bouts of dispute and the rebellion and the protests. He expected and anxiously awaited their frustration and their sadness and their pain. He was fully prepared to take on his role as Master and endure all off of what they gave. Yet... despite all of his preparation, it was still hard to watch as his brats slowly broke down and collapsed to their knees.

One by one they fell and his heart broke a little more. After all, nothing could prepare a parent to their child's tears. This was no different.

"B-but Master," A tearful member choked out. Half of the Tenrou Team (the newer members decided to call them since they were rarely seen without the rest) which consisted of Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Laxus, Evergreen, Bixlow, Freed and Cana, had silently endured their tears. Well, all except the vocal Elfman who was currently being comforted by his sisters (And _maybe_ a discreet pat on the back by Ever).

The others have not returned from what Makarov could see which was unfortunate. However, he was short on time and his impatience drew whatever members were near at the time. It was unfortunate that they were going to miss this part but he had to do what he had to do. With the quietest sigh he could muster, Master Makarov hopped on a makeshift pedestal out of the fallen debris.

"Listen up, you brats!" Makarov boomed from his stage. Immediately, the Guild smothered their cries until they were bearable sobs and looked up at the aged man with wet eyes. Once he was sure that he had their complete attention, the older Dreyer continued, "As a parent, it's unfortunate that we are not all here to bear the unfortunate circumstance. If it could have been avoided, I would not have liked to repeat what will be said." He paced the tiny surface and linked his hands behind his back, "As I said just moments before, we will be disbanding Fairy Tail."

Having gotten the former shock out of their system, a lot of the members started to protest in anger. The riot had gotten loud enough where Makarov would have to rely on using some of his magic to intimidate the rowdy members into silence. However, instead of having to resort to such tactics, Laxus stepped in front of him and shot multiple, thick bolts of lightning into the darkening sky. This effectively shut up some of the members, the others just naturally followed the others and calmed. Once he was sure they wouldn't act up again, the blonde Lightning Dragon Slayer turned his head slightly and nodded at the older Dreyer.

If Makarov had noticed that his grandson's eyes were slightly damp, but hadn't mentioned it. Instead, he nodded back and turned to the rest.

"I know you are all wondering why I have decided this so suddenly, but I'll assure you that this is no sudden decision," The older man let out a long sigh before continuing, "As the Master, this was a difficult decision for me to make and as a Parent, it was even harder. So please try to understand what I am trying to say." It took a moment, but the stiffened tension that was residing in the members slowly dissolved into another round of painful sobs and slumps of defeat."If there was any other way out of this, I would have never made this decision and I would have never forced you all to obey the demands of this selfish old man. I don't know what else to do except to say that I am truly sorry for all the tears and the heartbreak that this announcement has caused or will cause."

"For a lot of our family, we have lost much more than we have gained out of this battle. The scars that we have gained will stay on our bodies and our hearts until one day that we can overcome them. In this battle with the Demons from the Book of Zeref and FACE, our town along with many others had either been damaged or destroyed. New Council members will be elected and Fairy Tail _will_ be held accountable. I have no doubt about that. Thus, I have decided to disband the guild to avoid any other unnecessary conflicts with the new board. I know what you all must be thinking, but I have made my decision. And although the Master's word is law, I speak as a parent and ask you all to respect and understand it," Makarov clutched the fabric over his heart, bowing his head in despair.

That was the last straw for the group that did their hardest to stay strong for the rest. Mira collapsed to her knees and covered her face, each shudder or shake from her shoulders worsened as time passed. Elfman held one beefy fist to his eye as he desperately tried to stop his tears while he let Lisanna cling desperately to his other arm, her own tears soaking his sleeve. Bixlow had his arms folded as if he was indifferent but his babies collapsed around him, weeping in their own sorrows and taking his tears instead. Freed was openly wailing, using his arm to cover his eyes as his tears fled past his ears. Evergreen was probably the most composed out of the bunch, however, she caught her bottom lip between her teeth as tears streamed down her face.

Laxus stayed by his grandfather, awkwardly trying to comfort the older Dreyer while trying to stifle is own tears. And every so often, his eyes wandered to the Tenrou Team just to make sure they were okay. Well, as okay as they can be at the moment. Makarov bent his head and covered his eyes much like Freed did, the harsh shake of his shoulders moved even Laxus into tears.

It was right then that Master decided that no matter what will happen next, he _will_ catch his brats and save them from the torture of the future. He refuses to let them be burnt by the aftermath of this battle and even though he can no longer be called their master, they will always be his children.

.

.

.

.

"My shitty brats... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

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**A/N: Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Take a deep breath... I'm _kind of_ freaking out.**

**I recently read chapter 419 (SPOILERS if you didn't! Sorry!) but I remember Lucy telling Natsu that Makarov disappeared or his location was unknown and... I think I know where he is. So here's the thing, I wrote _all _of this this before that chapter went up but while I read over the ending, I just thought to myself: what if Makarov got himself arrested for the sake of Fairy Tail? It's a little far-fetched and most likely not true, but I just blew my own mind. HAHAHA! Ah... It's my head-canon now.**


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